Dear Beibut Bakirovich,

Dear Zhandos Nurlanovich,

Distinguished colleagues, dear friends,

Allow me to welcome our guests and to express our sincere gratitude for taking part in today's event.

Before we begin, allow me once again to congratulate our Kazakhstani brothers on the successful nationwide referendum on the country's new Constitution. This founding law enshrines President Tokayev's course toward building a "Just Kazakhstan."

Our meeting also takes place ahead of the meeting of the Council of Founding Heads of State of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), to be held on April 22 in Astana under Kazakhstan's chairmanship of the organization.

We congratulate our Kazakhstani partners on a successful chairmanship of the Fund, whose work is taking on an increasingly systematic character in strengthening regional cooperation and shaping a long-term environmental agenda for Central Asia.

It is symbolic that Uzbekistan will take up the chairmanship next year. This clearly reflects the spirit of continuity and close cooperation between our countries, which are consistently advancing joint approaches to the region's sustainable development and environmental security.

Distinguished participants,

Today's meeting carries particular significance in light of the current dynamics of Uzbekistan–Kazakhstan relations and the regional trends of recent years.

Our roundtable is devoted to the working visit of the President of Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan just a week ago. Despite its informal nature, the talks were marked by a high level of engagement and substantive content.

Since 2023, such meetings have taken place in Shymkent, Khiva, and Almaty. The Bukhara summit was a natural continuation of this tradition of trusted dialogue and an important milestone in strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

In this regard, I cannot but quote the message sent by President Tokayev to President Mirziyoyev following the summit. As the head of Kazakhstan noted, the visit itself, filled with carefully planned events, was undoubtedly valuable, and in terms of long-term political return, the one-day round of talks in Bukhara was in no way inferior to an official visit.

This high assessment of the meeting's outcomes confirms the unprecedented level of engagement between our states, grounded in mutual respect, trust, and consideration for each other's interests.

Distinguished colleagues,

The current dynamics of relations between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan reflect the steady and consistent rapprochement of the two countries in recent years.

A defining stage was the signing of the Treaty of Allied Relations in 2022, which institutionally cemented a qualitatively new phase of Uzbekistan–Kazakhstan cooperation.

Today, we are witnessing an intensive political dialogue at the highest level, which sets the tone for the entire range of cooperation between our countries.

In 2025 alone, more than 20 contacts between the heads of state were recorded — both bilaterally and on multilateral platforms — averaging nearly two engagements per month, a clear sign of stable political coordination.

It is precisely these regular contacts and the high level of trust that have provided the foundation sustaining the momentum of bilateral relations.

Informal meetings, in this sense, serve as a "flexible track" of cooperation, allowing positions to be coordinated swiftly without excessive bureaucracy.

The practical substance of these contacts is reflected in the steady growth of trade and economic indicators, the expansion of investment cooperation, and the rising number of joint projects. Kazakhstan remains one of Uzbekistan's leading trade partners.

Industrial cooperation is advancing steadily, a joint investment portfolio is taking shape, and engagement is expanding in energy, innovation, and digitalization. Particular attention is being given to transport and connectivity links, which strengthen the transit potential not only of the two countries but of the region as a whole.

Strengthening cultural and humanitarian ties and expanding educational and academic exchanges remain an important element, building a long-term foundation of mutual understanding between our peoples.

Taken together, this allows us to say that Uzbekistan–Kazakhstan relations have acquired a stable, practice-oriented, and genuinely allied character.

Distinguished experts,

Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are the largest states in Central Asia in economic, technological, demographic, and other terms. Given their considerable potential and the projects being implemented with all of our neighbors in the region, it can be said that cooperation between Tashkent and Astana is effectively becoming the "load-bearing structure" of regional cooperation.

In essence, this is about forming a core of regional resilience around which the stability and development of the entire region are built. When the region's two largest countries act in concert, it sets a more predictable and stable trajectory for the region as a whole.

A clear illustration of this is the story behind the emergence of the region's key format — the Consultative Meetings of the Heads of State of Central Asia.

The idea of holding regular meetings of Central Asian heads of state was first put forward by President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev in September 2017 at the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly.

Kazakhstan was among the first to support this initiative, which led to the first Consultative Meeting of the region's heads of state in Astana in 2018. That summit laid the institutional groundwork for a durable mechanism of regional dialogue aimed at developing coordinated approaches to key issues of Central Asia's development.

Importantly, this engagement is already structured, concrete, and results-oriented. It is reflected in the alignment of economic interests, the expansion of trade and investment ties, and the formation of a resilient transport and connectivity network, which naturally strengthens Central Asia's internal connectivity.

Distinguished guests,

The current dynamics of regional processes call for ongoing expert analysis, the development of balanced approaches, and practical recommendations for advancing bilateral and regional cooperation.

In this context, the International Institute for Central Asia (IICA) and the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies (KazISS) have been steadily developing their cooperation for several years now, building a durable platform for professional exchange and analytical support of the bilateral and regional agenda.

Today's roundtable is yet another confirmation of our enduring expert cooperation. According to the program, three thematic sessions are planned, covering the key areas of the Uzbekistan–Kazakhstan partnership.

I trust that this event will give additional momentum to the expert dialogue between our countries and help move toward more applied formats of cooperation.

I wish all participants productive work and a substantive exchange of views.

Thank you for your attention!